Baked Latkes

Hanukkah is by far my favorite holiday, simply because of the food. Potato latkes and jelly doughnuts – can it possibly get any better than this? Of course, a holiday celebrated by eating fried foods to commemorate an ancient oil-related miracle, is not exactly a health-friendly (or a waistline-friendly) holiday.

I was curious to see if I could take my potato latkes recipe, the fail-proof one that I’ve developed over the years, and turn it into a baked latkes recipe. The short answer: yes, it can be done, and the resulting baked latkes are delicious. Not as delicious as fried latkes, but on a scale of 1 to 10, if fried latkes get a 10 and send you to heaven, then these baked latkes get a 9 and send you close. And they’re significantly lower in calories – each of these latkes contains 100 calories and 3 grams of fat, while the average latke contains 200 calories and 11 grams of fat.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease by brushing with 1 tablespoon oil.

Peel the potatoes and onion. Grate using your food processor’s grating attachment. Place in a colander and press firmly with your hands, repeatedly, to remove as much liquid as possible.

Transfer the potato/onion mixture to a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Add the egg mixture to the potato mixture and stir with a fork, then add the flour and stir to combine.

Drop the mixture into the prepared baking sheet (I use my hands), forming 12 very thin pancakes- press with your hands (as I do) or with a spatula to flatten as much as you can, while keeping their shape.

Bake the latkes for 5 minutes. By now, the latkes should be formed and easier to handle, but they are beginning to stick to the foil, so you’ll want to briefly remove the pan from the oven, carefully loosen the latkes using a spatula, oil the foil some more, flip the latkes to the other side, and return the pan to the oven.

Bake about 15 minutes, or until latkes are crisp and deep golden brown on the bottom. Remove pan from oven, transfer latkes to a plate, brush the foil with some more oil, flip latkes to the other side, and bake about 15 more minutes, until crisp and deep golden brown on the second side.